HESA Data Collection System - FAQ

HESA Data Collection System 

Frequently asked questions 

Registering for the system

1. I have tried to register but I am being asked for a PIN and access code, which I do not have. How do I get a PIN and access code?
2. Can I have the PIN or access code if I am not the record contact?
3. I don’t know who the record contact is within my institution. How do I find out who it is?
4. Can I have the PIN/access code if the record contact has left the institution?
5. I have registered as a user so why does the system ask me for a password when I select another available collection?
6. Can I use the same username and password to access another collection?
7. I have more than one account. How do I login as a different user?
8. I have forgotten my password
9. Why can last year’s PIN/access code not be used for this year?
10. What is the transaction notification facility?

1. How long will it take my transaction to process?
2. My transaction has been pending for a long time, is there a problem?
3. The data has passed COMMIT and the Check documentation has been checked – where is the sign-off slip?
4. What is a TEST_COMMIT?
5. How do I DECOMMIT my data?
6. Why can’t institutions DECOMMIT their data?
7. Why doesn’t the DECOMMIT transaction delete the files that have been submitted?

1. In what format should I submit my file?
2. I have lost the leading zeroes in my .csv file

Registering for the system 

HESA issues PIN and access codes to record contacts at institutions when the data collection system for a given return opens. The PIN code will be distributed by letter a few days in advance of the Access Code which will be distributed by email. Record contacts unable to locate the PIN or access code should contact Institutional Liaison.

No. For security reasons HESA will not issue PIN or access codes to anyone other than the record contact. It is the responsibility of the record contact at the institution to control issue of the PIN and access codes to other colleagues who are involved in submitting data to HESA.

Send an email to Institutional Liaison and we will let you know who the record contact is at your institution.

If the record contact tells HESA that another member of staff is taking over as the record contact then HESA will update its records accordingly and all information, including PIN/access codes, will be sent to the new record contact. If the record contact leaves the institution without forwarding details of a new record contact to HESA, HESA will contact the Head of the institution asking for permission to give the PIN/access code to another member of staff.

Each collection has a unique PIN and access code and you must register as a user for each collection you wish to access.

Yes a single user account can be used for multiple collections. For details on how to add additional rights to an existing user account please view the Registration help guide.

Close all browser windows. While your browser is running it holds, in memory, a copy of the login credentials you are currently using and logs in automatically using these credentials whenever they are needed. By closing and restarting your browser a different set of login details can be used.

If you have forgotten your username and/or password you can request that these details are emailed out to you from the Request password function on the HESA data collection system. 

New PIN and Access codes for each data collection are issued each year for security reasons.

The transaction notification facility emails users when transactions (INSERT, DELETE and COMMIT) complete. Details on setting up these notifcations for your user account are provided in the Registration help guide.

Data submission

Details of processing times for the various datastreams can be found at Response times on the HESA data collection system.

If your transaction has been pending for upwards of 2 hours there may be an issue. Institutional Liaison monitors all transactions going through the data collection system. If you are concerned about the progress of a file please email Liaison@hesa.ac.uk or call 01242 211144.  

One committed data has undergone data quality checking by both the institution and HESA, HESA will set a data return to credible. This changes the status of the submission and generates the sign-off slip icon. From this icon the sign-off slip can be downloaded.

This facility allows institutions to process a transaction, which if successful will generate commit stage reports. However, these reports are for institutions’ purposes only and will not be checked within HESA. Following a TEST_COMMIT, institutions can make changes to the submission by inserting and/or deleting files in the normal way. If no changes are required institutions can process a COMMIT transaction which will generate the same commit reports produced following the TEST_COMMIT, however these reports will then be checked by HESA and data quality issues fed back to institutions. This facility is available on the Staff,  Student, EMS and ITT record systems.

Institutions do not have the option to DECOMMIT their own data. To request a DECOMMIT please contact Institutional Liaison.

Once data has been committed colleagues within the institution and at HESA are expected to start data quality checking. If institutions were allowed to DECOMMIT data and replace it, colleagues within HESA would not be aware that a newer version of the data was available for checking. Furthermore, in an institution asking HESA to DECOMMIT the data, any data quality issues that have been found by HESA can be fed back to the institution.

Where several files are submitted, errors might not exist in all files but in a single file. As a result the DECOMMIT transaction simply reverses the COMMIT transaction and allows the institution to delete and replace files as required. 

Data formats 

Details of the file formats required for the various data streams can be found in the Technical formats help reference.

Institutions are advised that opening .csv files in Excel can cause the leading zeroes for each field to be lost. It is advised that .csv files are viewed in an editing package such as Notepad.